No Sacrifice, No Victory
by Darkened-Storm
Summary: The sport of Beyblade is entering a new era of competitive play. All around the world, schools are training beybladers to become the first generation of pro beybladers - But the G Rev will learn that without sacrifice, there can be no victory.
1. Story Info

**Beyblade Generation X: Saving Grace**

By Darkened-Storm

**Summary: **Just as they begin their scholarships at the prestigious, and somewhat pretentious Bakuten Academy, the reformation of the G Revolutions is dealt a heavy blow when Hiro Granger returns to coach the team. Tensions run high between the two Granger boys as Hiro struggles to regain the respect of his team, but distractions come from every direction with the reappearance of some friendly – and some not so friendly faces. A lot has changed in three years, but do the Bladebreakers still have the kind of magic it takes to bring down the Blade Sharks from Whitney Prep School. And what's this? Kai's quit Beyblading? Again?

**Short Summary: **The entire auditorium was staring at them, but being the centre of attention was nothing new to Tyson, and the World Champion took it in his stride. "Hi," he said with a sheepish grin. "We're the Bladebreakers."

**Rated: **K+ - T

**Genre: **Action/Friendship, semi-Canon

**Characters: **Tyson Granger, Ray Kon, Max Tate, Kai Hiwatari, Tala Valkov, Brooklyn Masefield

**Disclaimer:** I, Darkened-Storm, own only my plot, ideas and characters. Takao Aoki owns Beyblade. Any characters you do not recognise from his series including Steph Summers, Rebecca Carter and Daisy Summers are my creations. This story was inspired by the Disney series, the Mighty Ducks – I don't own that either. Characters from other anime series that appear as minor characters belong to their respective publishers.

**Note: **This story is part of my fanfiction series, Beyblade Generation X. It is the first story in the series, followed by Saving Grace. Characters from other animes may appear from time to time to play a very minor role as students and teachers as a tribute to the other fandoms that made my childhood so enjoyable.

**Special Thanks:**I'd like to say a very special thank you to AquilaTempestas, my long-time friend on FFN and fellow Aussie. Don't know where my beyblade fic would be without you – I would have given up a long time ago.

* * *

**Short Story Excerpt from Chapter 2**

_By seven-thirty half the school seemed to have assembled inside the school gym. The gym itself had been fitted out for the match since morning practice. A large beystadium had been placed in between the two basketball courts. On either side of the stadium was a bench for both teams and in front of it was a platform for the referee. The bleachers in one corner of the gym had been set aside for the students from Jefferson High and were mostly empty, save for the five rows at the front but the rest of the stands was a blue, white and gold sea of student uniforms._

_Hilary and Daichi joined Mariah, Emily and Enrique in the front row behind the Bakuten Academy team bench. To show their support, Mariah and Emily had made a banner that read "Bakuten Academy Bladebreakers!" and hung it over the bleachers._

_The Bladebreakers walked into the gym amidst loud cheers from their classmates and huddled around their bench. The team from Jefferson was already ready and waiting for them. _

* * *

Please continue to the next chapter to read **No Sacrifice No Victory**

**This story is currently under revampment. Please check back soon for updates.**


	2. We are the Bladebreakers

**No Sacrifice, No Victory – A Bakuten Academy story**

By Darkened-Storm

**Summary: **Just as they begin their scholarships at the prestigious, and somewhat pretentious Bakuten Academy, the reformation of the G Revolutions is dealt a heavy blow when Hiro Granger returns to coach the team. Tensions run high between the two Granger boys as Hiro struggles to regain the respect of his team, but distractions come from every direction with the reappearance of some friendly – and some not so friendly faces. A lot has changed in three years, but do the Bladebreakers still have the kind of magic it takes to bring down the Blade Sharks from Whitney Prep School. And what's this? Kai's quit Beyblading? Again?

**Short Summary: **The entire auditorium was staring at them, but being the centre of attention was nothing new to Tyson, and the World Champion took it in his stride. "Hi," he said with a sheepish grin. "We're the Bladebreakers."

**Disclaimer:** I, Darkened-Storm, own only my plot, ideas and characters. Takao Aoki owns Beyblade. Any characters you do not recognise from his series including Steph Summers, Rebecca Carter and Daisy Summers are my creations. Some references have been made from D3: The Mighty Ducks – I don't own that either.

**Special Thanks: **I'd like to say a very special thank you to AquilaTempestas and Zadien for their valued support in getting this fic off the ground. Don't know where I'd be without you guys.

* * *

**Chapter One: We Are The Bladebreakers**

_**Bakuten, Japan**_

_This document hereby certifies that Mikhail Hiwatari has been awarded a full athletic and academic scholarship to Bakuten Academy as a member of the former World Championship Beyblading team, the G Revolutions._

The ivory skinned teenager read the words on the very official looking document a final time before he let out a prolonged sigh. This was the last place he'd expected to find himself returning to. The house was as unwelcoming to him as ever, yet he could not doubt that the room in which he now stood was the closest thing he'd had to a home in his seventeen years of existence. He'd grown up here, been happy here, at least for a time, albeit a long time ago.

_A very long time ago,_ he thought to himself, the corners of his mouth twitching to form an unrestrained grimace.

The days of Kai Hiwatari as a beyblader were long gone. Since the devastating match against BEGA's prodigy, Brooklyn Kingston, the former Bladebreaker turned Blitzkreig Boy had not spun a beyblade once, nor had he harboured any previous inclination to rejoin his old team, the G Revolutions.

He still wasn't sure when he'd made the decision to return to Japan. Admittedly, he'd been travelling east for a while now, stopping first in the remote regions of China to visit his old teammate on the White Tigers. Since returning however, he'd made to effort to contact the other members of his former team, in particular, the World Champion, Tyson Granger. He'd isolated his room, with not so much as a word to the other inhabitants of the household, which now consisted of only a few maids, the cook and the butler, Gunther. The frail old man had certainly been delighted to see the only Hiwatari heir return to the household, even if it was only temporary.

"Kai."

The two toned teenager made no effort to acknowledge his former teammate and travelling companion. Tala Valkov certainly wouldn't have been his first choice for a companion, but the younger boy had insisted that, as they were both headed for the same destination, they should travel together. Bryan and Spencer, having not competed in the previous Championship, had not been offered a scholarship to the prestigious Bakuten Academy.

"We have to leave," the red head said gruffly. "It's a long drive back to Bakuten from here."

Kai only nodded, and in response, Tala let out a frustrated sigh. The closer their travels had brought them to Bakuten, the more reserved and withdrawn his companion had become. "I'll wait for you downstairs." With that, he left the brooding teenager alone in his room and returned to his own, the guest room only a few doors down the hall.

It had taken Tala little under a day to fully explore the Hiwatari Estate. He had to admit he'd been impressed. Voltaire Hiwatari, for all his cynical words and twisted ways of thinking, certainly knew how to use his money. The kitchen itself, which he would never have to cook in as the staff brought him his meals, was bigger than pathetic excuse for a house that he and his teammates had used as a base in Russia.

The estate even had a fully functional and well maintained championship sized beystadium, of which he intended to make full use of during the semester break.

I could get used to this, he'd thought upon his arrival. On their first day here, Kai had gone out and brought a plasma screen just so he'd be saved from entertaining the red head himself. Tala didn't mind, he and Kai had never really had much to say to each other, even when they had been tag team partners. They had, however, come to an understanding during the BEGA epic and a sort of mutual trust had formed between them, much like the one they'd shared in their Abbey days.

It was obvious to Tala that Kai felt a great deal of responsibility for what had happened to him during the face of against BEGA four months ago. Tala held nothing against the slate haired ex-blader, however - he knew that his recovery would not have been possible without Kai's sacrifice. But his recovery was not without his drawbacks, he realised dismally as he shuffled around his room, throwing together the last of his belongings. Dranzer had healed him from the mental strain that had led to his coma, but his physical injuries still remained a heavy reminder of his battle with Garland.

Taking one last look at around the room, he hoisted his bag over his shoulder and closed the door, bracing himself for two long hours of uncomfortable silence in a car with Kai Hiwatari.

*

It was just as he'd remembered it, Max Tate decided as he stood outside the wooden gates of the Granger Dojo. Max had never used the entrance to the house itself, the dojo was as familiar to him as his own home. He was glad to see that while a lot of things about him had changed over the summer, the only thing to have changed at the dojo was that Grandpa Granger was now advertising a 25% discount for students enrolled at Bakuten Academy.

Yes, it felt good to be back in Japan. Max liked living with his mother, Judy, in New York, but Japan was his home. He loved his mother, and he had made a great deal of progress with the PPB All Starz over the course of the World Championship Tournament. Through sheer will and determination not to give up, he, Max Tate had earned the respect of the All Starz captain, Michael Parker.

He'd learnt a great deal from his time with the All Starz, but they were no Bladebreakers, and more than anything, Max missed his friends. The pressure on each of them to perform during the last tournament had caused a rift in their friendship as each member of the team had set out with high hopes that they'd find success with their new teammates. He was glad to finally be home.

"Feeling that familiar sense of nostalgia, Maxy?" Ray Kon asked his teammate as he joined him outside the dojo, a duffle bag slung over his shoulder. He almost looked like a stranger to Max, dressed in the navy, gold and white uniform of Bakuten Academy.

"How long have you been standing there?" Max asked, feeling slightly embarrassed that he'd been standing outside the dojo for a full ten minutes now, working up the courage to face his teammate.

"Only a minute or two," Ray told him, surveying the dojo himself with a measured stare, before glancing down at his watch. "Tyson not out yet?"

Max shook his head. "Nope, I'll bet his pouring himself a fourth bowl of cereal as we speak," he guessed. "We better go and get him."

The shoji door to the dojo was open and wheeling his bright blue suitcase behind him, Max entered the dojo, with Ray on his heels. He felt a grin form on his face when he saw the old Japanese man manoeuvring a kendo stick in the centre of the room. "Hey Grandpa!" Everyone, even if they weren't related to him, addressed the oldest living Granger as Grandpa.

"Hey there, Max, Ray," Grandpa Granger tucked his kendo stick under his arm and greeted his grandson's friends. "Say, you're looking mighty smart in your new school duds," he said proudly. "You all excited to start school?"

Max and Ray both exchanged wide grins. "Yeah, I really can't wait; this is a great opportunity for all of us," Ray said.

Grandpa sighed. "I wish Tyson was as thrilled as you lot are," he said. "My home boy is still snoring away in his bed."

Ray's eyes widened at the news. "You're kidding – he's not even up yet."

Max slapped his hand to his forehead. "Oh man," he groaned. "We're going to be so late for school."

Grandpa Granger frowned and he checked the clock on the wall above the dojo. "Don't worry homies, I've got a sure fire way to get Tyson out of bed in a hurry." Placing down his Kendo stick in favour of a large pair of ancient cymbals he'd hung on the wall, he left the dojo through the far door.

Max and Ray exchanged wary glances. "What do you think he's gunna do?" Max asked, but before Ray could answer, they heard the horrible sound of the two large cymbals being clashed against each other followed by a loud, brazen and very familiar cry of outrage.

A moment later, Grandpa returned to the dojo and hung the cymbals back on the wall, grinning through his moustache. "He'll be down in a minute."

*

The grounds of Bakuten Academy were bustling with students when the Justice Five (well, four, now that Crusher had refused his scholarship) entered through the front gates of the school, joined by members of the White Tigers, and the PPB All Starz.

The trip from Bakuten Airport had been particularly difficult for Garland to handle. Being the captain of the ex-BEGA team pretty much guaranteed that his fellow beybladers would not be extending the hand of friendship to him anytime soon, the accusing stares of White Tigers captain, Lee and Michael, captain jock of the All Starz had made that very clear to him. Mystel had spent the entire trip singing various variations of "The Wheels On The Bus Go Round" in an attempt to break the tension between the teams, but had proved to further annoy his captain.

He gave his teammates a quick once over. His Vice Captain, Brooklyn Kingston, looked as bored as ever, tugging his suitcase along and staring at the birds in the trees above as though he expected to strike up a casual conversation with them at any given moment. Mystel trailed along behind him, listening half heartedly to whatever it was that Rick Anderson of the All Starz was saying whilst whistling the national anthem.

Ming Ming, on the other hand, was staring up at the school with a mixture of excitement and delight on her face. "Wow, just look at it – it looks so – prestigious."

The secondary campus they were in was built around an open quadrangle, with academic buildings in the centre, surrounded by dorms. From where they stood, Garland could make out a gym, and of course a stadium, where the newly appointed Bakuten Beyblading Team would face off against the other schools in the district. The buildings were built with an almost churchlike architecture, with high peaks and stone gargoyles. Wrought iron gates surrounded the campus on all sides.

The students moved around them, giving the newcomers a wide birth as they past. Some stared as they passed, some subtly, some not bothering to hide it, whilst others averted their gaze entirely.

"And pretentious," Mystel finished, shooting a dark look at a passerby who dared to come too close.

"Do you think they know who we are?" Mariah asked in a small voice as she fell into step behind Emily, unnerved by the other students.

"This isn't your little Tiger village back home," Michael reminded her. "This is the big city and our faces have been all over national television for two years – of course they know us."

"My dad says if I didn't like it here, I could come right home," Ming Ming said as she walked, one arm looped through Mariah's. Despite having only formerly met each other on the bus from the airport, Mariah, Ming Ming and Emily had become fast friends. Garland figured that being a girl and being a talented beyblader made you somewhat of a minority on the high school scene. Still, he was glad the other teams' animosity towards him hadn't been extended to his teammates as well.

"That's nice," Rick muttered absentmindedly, shifting the weight of his stereo on his shoulder. "My dad says I better stay here on scholarship, or he'll whip my butt."

His companions on the other teams snickered, but the girls only rolled their eyes. "Hey, did you guys hear?" Emily asked. "Hiro Granger is going to be coaching the G Revolutions this year."

Lee pulled a face. "What is up with that guy," he murmured. "I know he's Tyson's big brother and all, but he switches teams more often than Kai does. The Bladebreakers can't be too happy about that."

"I heard he played for one year pro," Mystel said. "But he quit when he was still in his prime and went off to travel the world, no one knows why. When he came back, Mr. Dickenson asked him to coach the BBA Revolution."

"I couldn't care less who the coach is, or the politics of the sport, I'm just here to Beyblade," Rick said.

"Is that all that goes through your think head?" Emily scoffed. "There's more to life than Beyblading."

"Says you."

Mariah pulled a face. "Aww, don't start fighting again," she moaned, rubbing her small ears. "We're all on the same side here."

Emily huffed and tossed her hair back, adjusting her glasses whilst Rick made a face at her, but neither said another word. The group lapsed into silence, well aware of the other students staring at them. Garland felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end and turned, only to find a group of girls, (fan girls by the look of them) following them. When they saw him spot them, however, they abruptly turned their eyes away. Garland frowned. This was going to take some getting used to. Then he frowned. "Brooklyn, stop staring at the birds."

"I was not!"

*

Meanwhile, several floors above, in the teachers quarters, a student rested her head against the cool, hard glass window as she looked down at the busy school grounds. It still hadn't quite sunk in that this school would be her new home for the remainder of the school year. It was very different from the school she'd attended in Rome, but of course, she'd only been a day student there. For the next six months she would eat in the illustrious dining hall on the ground floor, learn in state of the art classrooms in the academic buildings, sleep in the shared dorms on the far end of the campus and beyblade in the fully refurbished beystadium.

"Mystel! Give back my books!" Ming Ming's high pitched cry floated up through the grounds and through the open window, followed by Mystel's cheerful laughter and Rick, Brooklyn and Lee's snickers.

"Are you nervous about starting at a new school?"

The girl relaxed her shoulders ever so slightly, a small smile forming on her lips as she watched the antics of her fellow beybladers below. Behind her, her older sister, once a student at Bakuten Academy, and now a student teacher, placed a comforting hand on her little sister's shoulder.

"I don't think so." Steph Summers was a sixteen year old former member of the Bladebreakers. At 4'9", she was rather short for her age, but what she lacked in height she made up for in personality. Her long, dark hair fell in curls to her waist, covering her small frame. She had peachy skin that tanned well and matched her bright hazel eyes.

Raised in Italy, and earning runner up in the Italian Nationals, she was a highly skilled competitor. At the age of seven, she had been introduced to the sport of Beyblading by her cousin, Enrique, the Italian National Champion. When she turned thirteen, she was recruited to the Bladebreakers.

A lot had changed in two years, she realised. Tyson had won the World Championships a third time running, even without his teammates, meanwhile she, on her fifteenth birthday, had returned to her former team, the Majestics and won the Italian National Championships, earning herself a scholarship to Bakuten Academy, along with her cousins Enrique Tornatore and Rebecca Carter.

Her sister hid her proud smile as she looked over her sisters shoulder and down at the newcomers below. A petite blue haired girl was chasing a blonde boy, brandishing her school bag at him as she attempted to retrieve her school books.

"You're not worried about having to make new friends?" she asked.

The girl only smiled. "I've got my team," she said simply, her fingers playing with the pendant around her neck. "They're a good bunch once you get to know them."

Daisy Anne Summers frowned, turning back to her desk and watching her computer screensaver move across the black screen. She wiggled her mouse and the computer woke from sleep mode so she could return to her work.

Steph raised an eyebrow at her older sister's sudden shift in expression. Daisy, ignoring the look her younger sister aimed in her direction, tossed her long blonde hair over her shoulders and glued her cerulean irises to the screen.

"Have you spoken to Hiro yet?" she asked warily.

Daisy didn't meet her eye. "Coach Granger and I teach in separate faculties," she explained in a cool manner. "There is no reason for us get to know each other on any more than a professional basis."

Steph rolled her eyes. "But you already know Hiro on more than a professional basis," she reminded her. "You guys went to high school together."

Daisy only nodded. "Yes, and I moved to America for college and he went off hunting fossils with his father, end of story," she said briskly, checking the clock in the top corner of her screen. "It's ten to nine, you better get down to the auditorium. You don't want to be late on your first day."

The girl's hazel eyes widened. "Aw, crap," she muttered, grabbing her school bag and jumping down from the windowsill. "See ya later Dais," she called over her shoulder as she hurried out the door.

*

"Next time," Tyson muttered, heaving his schoolbag over his shoulder as he hurried to catch up to his friends. "I'd rather you set the alarm."

Ray snickered. "You should have been up already," he said with a grin. "It's not our fault you slept through your alarm. We had to get something louder."

Daichi grinned. "Next time you should try a fire truck," he suggested. "Or an atom bomb."

Tyson pulled a face at his teammate. "Very funny Daichi," he said, shoving the younger beyblader out of his way. The red head cried out in protest as he stumbled, grabbing onto Max to regain his balance, but Max, being on his skateboard, was propelled forward by the momentum and rolled ahead of his teammates towards a dead end.

Thinking quick, Max shifted his weight slightly on his skateboard so he could turn the corner without landing on his face. "Nice going Daichi," he said, skating off.

"Hey Max, where are you going?" Tyson called after him.

Max grinned and looked over his shoulder, giving the thumbs up to his teammates. "This way's a shortcut," he said.

Ray hesitated. "You think he knows where he's going?" he asked Tyson.

Tyson shrugged his shoulders. "Well, I don't," he said simply. "So I'll follow Max. If Max is late for school, we're all late for school, that's team work too." And with that, he took off after his best friend. "Hey Maxy! I'm coming with ya!"

Ray screwed up his face and shifted the weight of his bag to the other shoulder. "I don't want to be late," he said thickly, but followed them anyway, dragging a grumbling Daichi behind him.

"Guys wait!" Kenny cried, running after them. "You're going the wrong way!"

*

"T.K, you forgot your lunch!"

T.K Takashi grinned and hurried over to the driver's side window where his mother was holding his lunch out to him. "Thanks Mom," he said, tucking the lunchbox under his arm and kissing her on the cheek.

Matt Ishida watched his younger brother skip down the alleyway and let out a prolonged sigh as he released his seatbelt. "See you Mom," he said, not meeting her eye.

His mother sighed when she noticed the weary look on her son's face as he got out of the car and slammed the passenger door shut. She pursed her lips together and pressed her hand down on the centre of her steering wheel and the car gave off a loud _HONK!_

The brooding teenager spun around and returned to the car, yanking open the rear door, muttering under his breath. He looked over at his mother and noticed her concerned gaze.

"Don't worry Mom," he said, fetching his guitar from the back seat of the car. "You're right, as long as I have the Wolves, I should be able to handle these so called beybladers."

Nancy Takashi smiled proudly at her son. "That's my boy," she said, watching her son slam the door behind him and walk down the alley before she drove away.

Hoisting his school bag over his shoulder with one hand and holding his bass guitar in the other, Matt joined the group of teenagers gathered in the back of the alleyway.

"I heard one of them's the World Champion, Tyson Granger," the Wolves guitarist, Tyler, was saying. He twirled a guitar pick in his hands as he spoke, his arm stretched around the shoulders of a pretty blonde girl Matt recognised as his girlfriend, Catherine.

"Who cares about the beybladers," a younger brunette girl, Kari, said, reaching her arm around T.K's waist and resting her head on his shoulder. "I heard that Ming Ming got a scholarship too – you know, Ming Ming Love, the famous popstar is coming to our school."

"I can't wait to meet her," Catherine said. "Do you think she'll be in any of our classes?"

Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his iPod, stuffed the headphones in his ears and turned up the volume to drown out the world. Matt was never one to care much about sports. He was a musician, the lead singer and bass guitarist for his band, the Teenage Wolves. Bakuten Academy had the most prestigious music programme in the country and he was well on his way to earning a music scholarship to university. He couldn't afford any distractions in his final two years of high school.

"Hey Matt, didn't you say you knew that Summers girl? Isn't she the Vice Captain?"

Matt raised an eyebrow at the drummer, Mike Lawson, before turning down the volume on his iPhone. "Huh?" he muttered. "Oh yeah, I know her. I went to elementary school with her."

"Aww, how sweet," Tyler said mockingly. "Were you two elementary sweethearts?"

T.K grinned. "He wishes," the younger Takashi said. "He was going to take her to the Winter Carnival that year, but he never got the chance." Matt shot his brother a dark glare.

His band mates were staring at him. "How come man?" Mike asked. "She turn you down?"

Matt shook his head. "I never asked," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "Her Mom moved around a lot for work. She arrived in January and by second term she was gone. I never saw her again."

"That's right, she went back to Italy," T.K said, thinking hard. "Her cousin is the National Champion there." His baby blue eyes narrowed as he recognised the slim figure heading down the alleyway towards them. He pulled a face. "Speaking of girlfriends," he murmured, his voice laced with apparent dislike. "Here comes yours, bro."

Frowning, Matt looked over his shoulder and grimaced. His girlfriend, June was headed towards him, her face lighting up when she saw him. "Oh Matt! There you are!"

"I can't believe she found me here," he grimaced watching in dismay as his band mates, his brother, and their girlfriends all got to their feet and headed towards school without so much as a second glance at him. They'd rather sit through a boring assembly in which their Headmaster showed off the new Beyblading team than stand too close to June Fletcher.

*

"Steph! Over here! Come sit with us."

Steph took a deep breath and sighed as the entire auditorium shifted to look in her direction as she entered from the foyer door. Mariah and Ming Ming were standing on the seats about ten or so rows for her, waving their hands, their pink and blue heads bobbing in perfect sync with each other.

_I am so embarrassed, _she thought to herself.

"Well, this sure looks like a whole load of fun," a voice behind her said as a young man draped his arm around her shoulder. He was taller than her, with light blonde hair "_E vero, Principessa?_"

Steph shook her older cousin off. "Grow up Enrique," she muttered as another girl joined them. She was taller than Steph, with strawberry blonde hair she wore tucked under a cap that wasn't part of the school uniform. Her honey brown eyes scanned the room and her face lit up when she saw her best friend waving to her.

"Oh, hey look, reserved seats," she said with a grin. Though Rebecca Carter was the youngest of the three Italian Beybladers, she was the tallest by far, reaching half a head taller than her oldest cousin, Enrique Tornatore, and dwarfing Steph, who only reached her shoulders. Together, they were the only members of the Majestics to be attending Bakuten Academy, and Enrique wasn't even on a scholarship, his parents were paying full fee.

Becky was grinning at her cousins. "It'd be a shame to turn them down when they went to so much trouble, right?" she said.

Steph rolled her eyes. "So much for keeping a low profile," she muttered, but allowed Becky to drag her along anyway, with Enrique right behind her. Squeezing past a group of students sitting in the aisle, they took the three empty seats beside Brooklyn.

"Did you have a good summer?" Hilary Tatibana, the former team manager of the G Revolutions asked Steph as she sat down.

Steph managed a grin. "Oh yeah, I beat Enrique loads of times," she said.

Her cousin pulled a face. "That ninth time didn't count, Becky threw her shoe at me during the match."

"Shh!" Ming Ming hissed, waving her hand to make the others quieten down as a short, white haired man walked over to the podium. "The Headmaster's about to say something."

"_Since 1962, the Bakuten Academy has been well regarded for its exceptional athletic programme and prestigious academic facilities, and since the school began, it has taken great pride in its students' achievements."_

Michael leaned over to whisper in Rick's ear. "Nice outfit," he muttered in reference to the long ceremonial gown that the Headmaster wore. "Does it come with a yacht?" Rick sniggered and Emily elbowed them both in the ribs.

*

Meanwhile, outside in the quadrangle...

"Let's go, let's go!" Tyson said, ushering his teammates through a door at the side of the building. "We'll sneak in the back."

Kenny glowered at Tyson as he squeezed through the door. "Tyson, this is all your fault," he grumbled.

Tyson grinned. "Aww, come on Chief," he muttered. "You gotta have some excitement in your life." With that, he followed Max through the door and raced up the stairs after his team."

Max paused at the top of the stairs. "Hey, wait a minute," he said, looking around with wide ocean blue eyes. "Where are we?"

"Shh," Ray muttered, holding up a finger. "I can hear something. Listen." They all listened. Tyson made a big show out of it by cupping his hand around his ear and leaning over.

"_We have all made a change for the future, and so today, we open our doors to a truly gifted group of students."_

"Wow, hey check out all this equipment," Daichi said loudly, inspecting the many gadgets on the wall on the side of the stage. "I wonder what this one does."

Tyson wandered back over to his teammate to inspect the gadget. "No idea, dude," he muttered. "Press it and find out."

Ray's eyes widened as he watched Daichi's small fingers reach out and clasp one of brass knobs on the wall. "No, Daichi don't – "

"_Would you please join me in applause to welcome the former World Champions, the G –"_

"Lookout!" Max cried out as the curtain tore down from its hinges and collapsed upon them. Then his world went dark.

*

Mariah shifted in her seat so that she could see over Rick, who was sitting in front of her. "What's going on?" she murmured.

"I have no idea," Ming Ming said. "Rick, move you big head, I can't see what's going on."

"Well grow taller, midget," Rick retorted.

"Shh!" Emily hissed.

Lee craned his head to get a better look at what was going on. From what he could tell, the stage curtain had fallen down. He reasoned that it had probably been an accident. That was until he saw the lump of curtain on the stage move, and recognised the very familiar voices coming from beneath it.

"Get off me!"

"Kenny, get your foot out of my face!"

Ming Ming gasped. "Is that..." But she didn't need to finish her sentence before Mariah caught onto her train of thought.

The pink hair girl's face flushed. "Please tell me that's not..."

A look of sheer embarrassment on her face, Daisy Summers got up from her seat and hurried on to the stage, pulling the red velvet curtain off the five boys trapped beneath, who were still bickering, unaware that that entire school could see them.

"Great going Daichi," Max muttered, ruffling his hair. "Way to break our new school."

The red haired midget screwed up his face and took a swipe at the American. "It wasn't my fault, Tyson told me to do it."

"That doesn't mean you do it," Kenny snapped. "If Tyson told you to jump off a cliff, would you do it?"

"I wouldn't tell him to jump, I'd throw the Monkey Boy off it myself."

"Tyson, shut up and turn around," Ray muttered under his breath, his amber eyes doing a quick scan of the auditorium. His heart thudded to an almost halt in his chest as he recognised the faces of the school Headmaster staring back at him.

Tyson grimaced as he turned around. The entire auditorium was staring at them. In the third row, he saw Steph slap her hand to her forehead and Hilary bury her face in her hands to hide her embarrassment. The audience, students, teachers and his Beyblading friends a like struggled to suppress their laughter and snickers so as not to offend their friends. Some, like Rick and Michael, were laughing along with the rest of the school.

Behind him, both Max and Ray shifted uncomfortably, while Daichi hid his hand behind his back, feigning innocence. Max tugged on his shirt, urging him out of the spot light in an attempt to save face, which was rather difficult as they were centre stage with the entire school staring back at them.

But being the centre of attention was nothing new to Tyson, and the World Champion took it in his stride. "Hi," he said with a sheepish grin. "We're the Bladebreakers."

* * *

That's it for chapter one. T.K Takashi, Nancy Takashi, Kari Kamiya and Matt Ishida have been borrowed from Digimon. June Fletcher is my creation, though she resembles Davis's sister – in a very bad way.


End file.
